This kind of depends what is being tested in the examination (obviously, sometimes exams will test more than one thing!). Is rote memorisation required (like in a vocabulary test)? Will you have to perform a skill (like solving simultaneous equations)? Or will you have to build an argument in the form of an essay (like in an English literature exam)? For rote memorisation, the combination of spaced repetition of the content (learn it, take a break, come back to it, take a break, come back to it) and practising producing the answers (testing yourself) appears effective. For skills, it’s less about storing lots of knowledge, more about practising the skill and getting feedback (so, doing practice questions, then seeing if you got them right and learning from any mistakes). For essays, it’s about enriching your ‘schema’ or mental map of the ideas involved, for instance by drawing diagrams of the key ideas and the relation between them. And being sure you follow the ‘heuristics’: don’t just write about what you have learned, answer the question (etc.!). Finally, to ensure that you can deliver the skills (i.e., you don’t freeze), you need to practise answering questions ‘under exam conditions’, so that you can get used to the stress.
Most of it is commonsense: pace yourself, chunk the information up into manageable sections, make the learning meaningful.
Memory research tells us that most of the information we use for exams is gone from our heads within 72 hours. So while I am totally against cramming, I think there is something to be said for getting a lot of study in shortly ahead of the exam (this is one of the many reasons I favour coursework over exams as a form of assessment).
You can revise and regurgitate all you like for exams, but please never forget that examiners are humans too and have to read dozens of badly-penned scripts. Splurging out what has been drilled into you in class won’t get you first-class marks – at least at university level. You will need to show some independence in your thinking, some research skills, if you are to achieve the top marks.
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ellieerussell commented on :
Thanks. That is a great summary I will share with colleagues.